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“Oh,” Stacie said.
“And now the law is out there looking for clues about who did that to her and why because she can’t remember,” he continued.
“I was off base, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t do it all over again if it meant protecting those babies,” Stacie conceded. The bull-in-the-china-shop routine was starting to fade as some of the tension in her face muscles eased. “It’s only been a year and—”
“What?” he interrupted. “You think I’ve somehow forgotten her?”
“Well, no, but—”
“I haven’t,” he said. “And I won’t. But it has been a solid year and I will get back on the dating horse at some point.”
“Withher?” Stacie blurted out. A look of embarrassment flashed across her features.
“Does it matter?” he asked. “Someone will come along at some point. I’ll be ready to kick-start that part of my life again.”
Stacie stood quiet for a few moments. He could see this was hard on her. Him moving on was another reminder that her baby sister was gone. He didn’t want to get into the details of just how complicated his relationship with his wife had become before the pregnancy, or the fact that he wasn’t a hundred-percent certain the twins were biologically his. The guitar-player ex-boyfriend from Hazel’s past might share their DNA.
“I guess not,” Stacie admitted after another long pause. “You have a right to live your life. I do realize that.”
“If I start falling down on my duties as a father, I hope you’ll call me out,” he said, knowing full well he would never do that to his girls. The statement was meant to placate their aunt.
“You can count on that,” she said with a half smile. It was better than nothing.
“Good,” he said. “Thanks again for coming out on such short notice.”
“Call me if her condition worsens,” Stacie said. “Every patient is different, but the vitals are strong on this one. My guess is that she’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
“That’s good news,” he said, then they said their goodbyes.
“You need to be careful with this one,” Stacie warned as she got inside her sedan.
Rather than debate those words, or explain himself, he turned toward the house. “Drive safe.”
Darren cut across the lawn as his cell buzzed again. He checked the screen about the same time he reached the door. After a quick scan of the message, he opened the door and stepped into the living room. “The sheriff is on his way.”
“Any chance he found my personal belongings?” Reese asked as she immediately sat up.
“He didn’t say one way or the other,” Darren admitted. “Are you hungry?”
Reese crossed her arms over her chest. “That ibuprofen sounds good if you have any.” Her body language tensed. The reason most likely had to do with Stacie.
“I do,” he said. “Can you eat something first? It’s not good to take on an empty stomach.”
The way she scraped her teeth across her bottom lip told him she had questions but wasn’t sure she should ask them. “I could probably eat a piece of toast if you have bread.”
“What about a sandwich?” he asked as he moved toward the kitchen.
“Turkey?” she asked.
“Always,” he said before stopping himself. Every day after school, she’d had a turkey sandwich at his house. He made sure it was stocked since it had been her favorite, a habit that stuck to this day.
“I could try,” she said, taking one of the throw pillows, then hugging it against her chest.
He fixed the sandwich and then brought it into the living room. Sitting next to her on the couch wouldn’t be the smartest idea, so he took the leather chair instead.
“Something has been niggling at the back of my mind and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is,” she said, picking up the sandwich. She took a bite and made a face.
“What just happened?” he asked.
